


The Lone Emperor

by CellionKagamine



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Demons, Don't Judge Me, M/M, Please Don't Hate Me, Please Don't Kill Me, Repenting on Life, i'm so sorry for this in the later stages of work, idk where I'm going with this, just trying out, super slow story development
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-07-22 17:25:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 20,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7447747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CellionKagamine/pseuds/CellionKagamine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aka Seishi, the crown prince of a country.<br/>Furiki Kouta, the royal dressmaker's son.<br/>When they meet in a rebellion attempting to overthrow the country, what happens?<br/>What will the betrayals and twists and turns of life do to their originally happy life?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Furihata Kouki's a Yaoi Manga Artist](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5238461) by [TakahashiNana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakahashiNana/pseuds/TakahashiNana). 



> I'm trying this out for the first time but this was inspired by another yaoi I read also on Archive of Our Own.  
> Hope you enjoy!~

‘‘Crown P-prince Aka! It is time for t-the council meeting! The elders asked me to r-relay that this meeting is important as it is a-about your crowning…!’’

Seishi looked up from the stack of books he surrounded himself in and eyed the servant that had dared to disturb him from his studies. The brunette instantly looked away in fear, or respect. Seishi could not tell, but it did not matter. It has been like this since he was born, for all the lower status to obey him.  
He was taught never to reveal his weakness to his servants or he could be taken advantage of before he knew it. That was how his father, the king, had raised him. He learnt before long never to cry, requests were not made, only orders were given. The only one Seishi took orders from was his father.

Sighing, Seishi pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘‘Tell them I will be down soon.’’

The brunette continued standing awkwardly at his door, seemingly as though wanting to say something but not daring to.

‘‘Well?’’

‘‘T-the council m-members wanted me t-to i-inform you that tardiness is not befitting of the future king…’’

Seishi stood and walked towards the servant, who looked as though he wanted to run for his life. Seishi was honestly surprised, it was rare for anyone to dare to talk back to him, even if they looked as though Seishi was about to snap his neck that moment. Truth to be told, the brunette looked so small and skinny that Seishi was fairly certain that he could snap the boy’s neck after all, even if they were almost of the same height.

He stared straight into the servant’s brown eyes and spoke, ‘‘I am certain those old geezers who have enough time to lounge around, sip wine and gorge themselves on the products of our country have enough time to wait for, what was it they referred me to as? Ah. The Future King. Relay my message, and do not make me repeat a third time. ‘I will be down soon’ ’’.

The servant’s eyes opened slightly wider in fear and nodded his head, even though it was obvious to Seishi that he had no wish to relay such a crude message to the council of elders that helped the king run this country.

The moment the servant left, Seishi started to feel a slight tinge of guilt for doing that to the servant. He was after all, merely doing his job. Seishi glanced at the stack of books that were incomplete as he sighed. He could finish them after the council meeting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Random introduction of Mibuchi Reo i guess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super long chapter which IDK why i would do this to myself but okay-

Kouhata Furiki visibly exhaled the moment he stepped out of the room. Although his troubles were not over, due to the message he had to relay, he was at least out of the room that held the overwhelming presence of Seishi Aka. The moment he had stepped into the room, he had felt the overpowering aura of the soon-to-be King. He shuddered at what it would be like to be in the presence of the current Emperor whose presence was describe as a thousand times more powerful than the Crown Prince.

Furiki sighed as he trudged back to the council meeting room to report to the elders, all the while thinking about Aka Seishi. If that were what the servants of the castle had to go through daily, Furiki couldn’t imagine himself surviving it.

~~

As Seishi slowly took his time to walk down the corridors he had memorized after walking through it countless times, up to the small crack in the wall that seemed to refuse to disappear no matter how many times it was redid, to the lamp that had a small crack but he never got around to telling the servants to change.

Seishi had lived in the palace his whole life, with his day-to-day life being occupied by the repetitive motions of eating, sleeping, studying, working and the act he disliked most, socializing for the sake of the empire’s prosperity. Countless marriage interviews from other countries have been given but he had turned them down as he had found none of them satisfying and well enough to be considered worthy for someone his status.

Seishi had a number of friends that he considered close, the shooting specialist Midori Shinma, the sword master Daimine Aoki, the overly friendly hand-combat fighter Ryouse Kita, as well as his personal advisor Tetsuko. Aside from them, Seishi had the information collecting spy Suki. Suki didn’t belong in the kingdom, but had the ability to sneak in and out of vision, collecting information for those who pay. Any attempt to capture her had resulted in failure and Seishi had long since stopped trying, but other than that, the Prince and the Spy got along well.

Snapping back from his daze, Seishi realized that he was standing in front of the doors that opened to the council room. Knowing this was going to be a long conversation, he sighed and commanded the soldiers guarding the door to open it.

~~

The meeting took slightly over two hours, more than the one and a half hours he had expected, but no matter. He could always cut down on his sleep to keep up with his schedule. Considering the amount of time spent on his body measurements, he was not surprised this had happened, and had already prepared for this outcome, already done planning what he had to do to get back on schedule.Walking with haste but yet elegantly, something only the Aka family could perform, Seishi returned to his room to complete the things required for the remainder of the day

~~

The rest of the day passed by in a flash and before Seishi realized, it was time for dinner. The only reason he noticed was due to the three loud knocks on his door before it opened, revealing his own personal maid. A silent and hard working girl, Rida, doing what was required and not asking any further unnecessary questions, her performance had pleased Seishi greatly once and he had decided to make her his personal maid.

‘‘Aka-sama, it is time for dinner. Your father requests your presence at the royal banquet table.’’

Sighing, Seishi knew there was no turning down the King as, while he was the next-in-line, he was still required to listen and heed the command that has been disguised as a request. Closing the book of accounts that held the information to the treasury, he gave Rida a nod before proceeding down the hallways, turning left towards the banquet hall instead of right towards the council meeting room he had been in earlier that day.

The moment the doors opened revealing the grand banquet hall with its chandeliers and gold encrusted walls, Seishi wished that he took more time coming to put this off as long as possible. However, such acts were despised upon, especially as a Prince. Internally cringing at what was to come, he took small quick steps towards the long dining table situated at the centre.

‘‘Is this Prince Aka? Oh! What a charming young man!’’ The lady, probably around 40 years of age, flattered. Seishi honestly could not care less for flattery, of which he had probably heard hundreds of times. His only interest was why his father, someone whom Seishi had rarely seen, much less spoke to unless situation desired so, would have summoned him here.

Watching the lady seated across the table, Seishi plucked out all possible reasons why his father might have wanted a conversation with him. She was too old to be a possible marriage partner, his father had (as far as he knew) no plans to get married once more, she might have a daughter that would be the marriage partner, however his father would not usually attend the meeting unless it was of a princess of another country.

‘‘Why the serious face? I know! You must be hungry! My, all the hard work that you put in must have been taking a toll on you! Come we should get the servants to bring in the food!’’ With a clap, the lady got the servants to start bringing in the usual 5-course meal, which Seishi honestly found a waste of time but ate it out of courtesy of his upbringing.  
It didn’t take long for the stranger to reveal who she was and her purpose in the castle.

‘‘Did you know? Your father and I are long friends! We go WAYYYYYY back, probably when your father was also your age! Oops, am I talking unnecessary things? Oh well since we’re here I might as well start on why I’m here!’’ Seishi perked up his ears to this while impatiently waiting for the stranger to open up. ‘‘Well, I guess your father had some relationship problems and that’s why I’m here, to help him with it!’’

Relationship? Seishi had not heard anything about his father getting into another relationship. Seeing the confused look on Seishi’s face, the lady gave a child-like giggle, which strangely reminded Seishi of Suki. ‘‘Not that kind of romantic relationship! Gosh young kids these days thinking about romance so early! When I said a relationship, I meant a familial relationship!’’

Seishi was not following.  
‘‘Oh my gosh you little numbskull I meant you and your father!’’

‘‘Rechi! I will not stand for insults directed at my son!’’ Seishi's father gave a hard glare at the unexpected lady, who merely smiled back in return.

Seishi did not appreciate the insult, but something else had caught his attention. His father? The Almighty King of the lands who brought countless countries down and beheaded all that tried to stand in his way? The one who’s mere mention instills fear into people’s heart? Wanting to get closer to Seishi?

Bewildered, Seishi shot up. ‘‘I apologize, I forgot something of utmost importance, and would like to be excused from the dinner table to handle it at once. Please enjoy your meal, King Aka and…’’ trailing off, Seishi realized he did not know the strangers name.

‘‘Mibuo Rechi! Your father’s long-time friend! Since there is something of such importance, I assume it would be best to handle it at once! Out you go!’’ With a light push, Seishi exited the banquet hall where he could hear his father and the stranger-Mibuo-san, talking. Rather, Mibuo-san talking and his father giving occasional hmm-s and okay-s.  
It was hard to imagine his father standing such a insolence, making Seishi wonder how close they actually were.

Well this was an unexpected turn of events.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And i thought the last chapter was long welp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i honestly don't know where I'm going with this, but if you went and read where i got this work idea from, you'd understand what's gonna happen in the end I'm sorry.

Groaning, Furiki sat up in his chair. His back ached from last night. His father had finally allowed him an opportunity to tailor clothes for an event, and knowing Furiki would be stressed if he knew who it was for, had decided to keep it a secret and had simply gave measurements. Measurements were easy to fit into, but it was the design that troubled him. Make no mistake, Furiki is one of the most talented tailors in the country, however the phrase his father had used ‘‘The perfect suit for the perfect person, beauty incomparable to the likes of what we could imagine’’.

That was what had Furiki in a dilemma, he could not imagine a suit that could possibly fit such a ‘‘perfect’’ person, as his father termed so.

‘‘Is there a problem, Furi dear?’’ His mother flowed in, with grace that would probably make men fall to her feet.

‘‘Mother! What are you doing out of bed!’’ Despite her mother’s seemingly perfect health, she had been sick for a long time, since even from when she was a child. Yet, obstinate as one could be, she refused to stay in bed and spent her time wandering around, talking to other housewives and going to the market.

‘‘Furi-dear, I won’t die from walking around, I’d probably die of boredom if I stayed in that bed any longer! Now, I heard you sighing, so is there something wrong?’’

‘‘Well…’’Furiki stopped trying to convince his mother, experience told him that she wouldn’t listen. ‘‘I’m supposed to make a suit for a ‘‘perfect’’ person, however f the person is really as perfect as he is said to be, then I simply cannot think up a design that could possible shine enough as to not dull the features of this person.’’

‘‘Hmmm…’’ Furiki’s mother looked deep in thought for a moment before lighting up. ‘‘Then why don’t you think of the most perfect person you have seen, and try to design a suit based off that person?! I’m sure that with your amazing skill, you would be able to make the most wonderful suit there ever existed and ever will! Oh look at the time, the market is going to close soon, best get going! See you later Furi-dear, I want to see the suit when it’s complete okay!’’ And with that, Furiki’s mother drifted off.

‘‘The most perfect person? That would probably be mother herself…, how do I make a suit if the supposedly perfect person would be mother?’’ Furiki groaned in exasperation, still stuck at a dead end, deciding a walk might help, Furiki grabbed an outer coat and headed off aimlessly.

~~

‘‘Furiki-san.’’

The voice made Furiki nearly jump out of his skin and he spun around nearly colliding head-on into an old friend of his, Kuroya Tetsuko.

‘‘Tetsuko-kun! You scared me!’’ Furiki sighed. He seemed to be sighing a lot today.

‘‘I sincerely apologize. I was merely curious as to what you were doing here into the Royal Gardens. There is no event today and you are not required to help out today as there is no council meeting either, thus my query.’’ Tetsuko rattled off in that monotonous voice of his that severely reminded Furiki of how his father sounded like when chiding him.

Furiki told Tetsuko of his problems, after all, how could one be an advisor for the Prince and the King at the young age of 19 if one could not solve problems?

Tetsuko looked thoughtful for a few moments before suggesting to Furiki that they ‘take a walk around the castle’.

‘‘Are you sure?’’ Furiki was uncertain, a person of his standing was rarely allowed to enter the castle, and if found and caught, could possibly be locked up in the dungeon for attempted infiltration.

‘‘As long as you stay near me, the guards should recognize me and will grant you entry without questions’’ Furiki was worried now. Tetsuko’s presence was so low that Furiki could quite possibly be mistaken for being alone if nobody knew the Royal Advisor was present.

Furiki agreed anyway.

~~

Seishi had a pounding headache. His body was aching from falling asleep on his table last night. His soul felt drained. All in all, it was NOT a good day. He knew he was glaring daggers at every soul that dared cross him but he could not care any less. Fear him if they must, as long as he could be left alone.

‘‘The looks you are giving is about to scare every single servant into the dungeons. You might want to stop looking as though the whole world is against you.’’

Tetsuko appeared beside him, giving him a start, which only worsened the headache that seemed to be gripping its claws deeper within his head. Holding his head in his hands, Seishi muttered under his breath.

‘‘Pardon?’’

‘‘LEAVE ME ALONE I DON’T HAVE THE MOOD!’’ Seishi hollered, making certain that Tetsuko heard him this time around.

The ever impassive Tetsuko merely gave Seishi a smile and spoke. ‘‘Maybe you should take a short rest today. You do not seem in the top condition.’’

Seishi sighed. ‘‘A King cannot take a break from his duties, it will only create openings for those who wish this kingdom gone, a chance to strike.’’

Tetsuko arched his eyebrow, ‘‘A sick King cannot defend his kingdom either, so which would you choose?’’

A short break of silence before Seishi sighed in defeat. ‘‘I suppose you are right, a break for a few hours would not hurt anyone.’’ Seishi turned and walked back towards his room, leaving Tetsuko standing there.

‘‘Is something the matter?’’ Tetsuko spoke seemingly to himself. One would presume he was doing so, if not for the shadow in the corner that smiled and vanished.

~~

‘‘Where did he go?’’ Furiki was severely worried. He had lost Tetsuko while walking around the castle, and was lost in the 3-acre and 4-floor high gigantic castle. As he wandered around, he heard voices and instantly shrunk back into a corner of the walls.

‘‘…cannot defend his kingdom, so this is the perfect time.’’

Someone’s voice echoed down the hallways with each word enunciated clearly as though enforcing his point. Short murmurs in reply were made but not clear enough to be deciphered, before footsteps sounded across the hallways, towards Furiki. Furiki panicked and instantly attempted to turn the other direction before whoever it was appeared.  
Furiki managed to hide himself in the first room he found before watching Midori Shinma, Daimine Aoki as well as Ryouse Kita, the three talented weapon wielders of his generation, walk by.

Not paying much attention to what just transcended, Furiki hurriedly stepped out of the room and turned the other direction of where the three had walked towards, bumping into a pink-haired girl that he did not notice was there. Furiki immediately fell backwards, landing on his behind.

‘‘Oh, my apologies! I did not realise you were there!’’ Furiki hurriedly explained, some of the guards were not to be messed with.

‘‘It is not exactly nice to be listening in on other’s conversations okay? Well, not that I’m one to talk, but that was dangerous okay? Also, it would be best for you to forget anything you head.’’ The pink haired girl spoke while softly patting Furiki’s head. She then walked off and rounded a corner.

Furiki stayed there for a moment, not understanding what just happened but deciding to get out before he bumped into another guard. He rounded the same corner the girl had left by and nearly bumping into Tetsuko this time.

‘‘Tetsuko!!! Where were you, you suddenly disappeared on me! Do you know how scared of being found I was?’’ Furiki started rambling in his stress, something he did very often, since he got stressed out quite easily.

‘‘I am very sorry, I had some personal matters to attend to. Shall we continue our small tour of the palace?’’ Tetsuko did not seem in the least bit worried about his friend’s safety, making Furiki feel apologetic for freaking out earlier.

~~

After a few hours of wandering the seemingly endless hallways that kept going on and on and on, Furiki was exhausted whereas Tetsuko seemed to be perfectly fine.

‘‘All this walking is exhausting, plus it is going to be night time soon, I think I should head back now.’’

‘‘Why don’t you stay for dinner?’’

Furiki gave Tetsuko a look of astonishment and bewilderment. Him, the dressmaker’s son, having dinner in the palace? Furiki was about to instantly refuse when Tetsuko seemed to take his silence for agreement and started dragging him down the winding hallways towards a place that seemed similar to a ballroom. Entering it, Furiki looked around in wonder and awe before realizing Tetsuko was waiting at another side door in the ballroom.

Entering the room, Furiki was shocked for a moment as, in the room, awaited a person of such beauty that Furiki could only stare, only managing to muster enough strength as to close the mouth he had left agape. Something about the red hair of the person screamed familiarity, but he couldn’t pinpoint as to what it was…THE PRINCE! Furiki hurriedly bowed in the prince’s direction, and was met with a pair of heterochromatic eyes gazing in his direction and a slight nod before turning back to talk to Tetsuko.

~~

After taking a short break, Seishi had, despite Rida’s chiding, went back to settling the accounting. Doing accounting for taxes for an entire country was not as easy as it seemed. Seishi smiled slightly at Rida’s mother-like figure in his life. She was the only one who dared to chide Seishi whenever he was, in her opinion, overworking, and Seishi gave her the right to. Rida would be the only servant that Seishi felt truly close to, but that was as fair as their relationship could go, with one being a prince and the other being a servant.

Seishi’s stomach gave a slight twitch, making Seishi frown in annoyance. He had not eaten much at lunch, due to the awkward tension present after the revelation of his father wishing to ‘‘get closer to him’’. He had skipped dinner in an attempt to escape from the awkward situation that would have bound to appear again similar to what had happened during lunch. His stomach was now rebelling against him for his decisions.

Deciding that a little walk to the kitchen might do some good to clear his mind of the amount of work that had piled up in the nap he had taken during the afternoon. He headed down to the kitchen, which accidentally sent the kitchen staff into a frenzy as they were mostly busy. Originally requesting that he could just help himself to a snack of sorts, which somehow seemed to give the impression of him being angry, Seishi gave up and let the kitchen staff fix dinner for him. He had just sat down before in walked Tetsuko, and a brunette that had Seishi’s eyes perk up. 

There was something vaguely familiar…Ah, the same servant that had called on him a few days ago for the council meeting. Seishi still felt slightly guilty about that. Turning his head to the Royal Advisor, he greeted Tetsuko. ‘‘What a pleasant surprise to see you here Tetsuko, is it not a slight bit late for dinner?’’

Tetsuko seemed unfazed, which was not very surprising, he was one of the few closer ones to Seishi. ‘‘I could say the same for you Seishi, I heard you were absent from dinner due to the work that held you up. Are they perhaps, completed?’’

Furiki stared at Tetsuko. He called the prince by his first name? How close were they?

Seishi merely chuckled and looked at the paintings on the walls. ‘‘I would be fairly certain you knew about what my father was up to, but I should have remembered you are not the type for gossip. Come, sit, let us have dinner, I can tell the kitchen staff to prepare one-’’ Seishi looked at the unknown brown-haired boy. ‘‘-or two extra meals.’’

Tetsuko nodded as a silence settled around the dining table.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay a short chapter!  
> In case you haven't realised, i altered the names of all the characters, however we all know who is who so there's not point stating it out.

At the end of the meal, the prince suddenly spoke up, seemingly at him rather than Tetsuko whom he had been conversing with the entire time.

‘‘So, to what do I owe the pleasure of meeting this young man who seems close with Tetsuko?’’ The words uttered by the prince seemed to be a threat rather than a ‘‘pleasure’’ as he called it.

‘‘O-oh, m-my name is Kouta Furiki, I am t-the dressmaker’s son…’’ Furiki stuttered terribly, tripping over his own words.

‘‘Ah, the Royal Dressmaker’s son who is said to have excellent dressmaking skills. I would love to wear one of your works someday.’’ Seishi’s tone seemed softened but Furiki wondered if he was being polite or did he truly mean those words. Knowing the status of the person he was talking to, Furiki thought that it was probably the former.

‘‘A-ah my works are not really that amazing as compared to other people’s, and I don’t have any other skills, I’m not smart like Tetsuko or of high status like your highness and and…’’ Realizing he was ranting, Furiki promptly shut his mouth and decided to stare at the tablecloth as though it was the most interesting object in the entire room.

Hearing a chuckle, Furiki shyly looked upwards at the prince and was caught by the pleasant gaze from those mismatched orbs. Feeling himself blush, he looked away once more. Ahh, how embarrassing that he started ranting again, and in front of the prince!

~~

Seishi looked at the boy that was turning red to his ears and unknowingly let out a small chuckle. Slight guilt on scaring the boy before had been forgotten. This was one very interesting subject he had. He would love to talk to the boy, but on remembering the piles of work he had, Seishi suddenly stood up, surprising the brown boy while Tetsuko merely looked up at him with…curiosity? It was hard to decipher considering Tetsuko’s natural expressionless face.

‘‘I am afraid I have to go now, it has been a pleasure meeting the two of you.’’

The brunette instantly stood up and bowed in respect whereas Tetsuko merely nodded. Seishi nodded in reply to both of them and left the room to head back towards his room, passing by Rida on the way who gave him a bow to which he answered with a nod.

~~

Furiki was having a hard time sleeping. After the dinner, he had bid goodbye to Tetsuko and went back home, yet all he could think about was the prince and his eyes, each a differently color but beautiful either way, his nose, perfectly angled such that it was sharp, yet not protruding, his hair, the way it cut up to his forehead, giving him a neat and simple style. How could someone look so perfect in such a contrasting way?

Deciding that was enough, Furiki got up and went into the sewing room, hoping to get something else done rather than imagining about a boy that was about to be crowned King in a few weeks.

As Furiki slowly worked his hands on the fabric, his mind slowly wandered again, back to the same individual. Furiki’s hands thumbed over the smooth cloth, all the while his mind jumping over random things, but finally settling back on one thing. Aka Seishi.

Aka Seishi was, as far as Furiki could tell, the most gorgeous (if gorgeous could be used to describe a guy) person that Furiki had ever met. He slowly worked around the cloth he held, cutting it and seaming it expertly, having learnt how to do this since young, as he continued thinking of how nice it'd be if the prince would wear something he'd make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looking at the end, we all know how this is going. Let's just pretend like we don't ahahhaa.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've actually had all this typed out till like, chapter 7?  
> But i decided that I'm just gonna put off uploading the rest till a later date, cause it ain't nice to rush everything out ahahaha.

Complete!

Furiki smiled at himself for the work he had done overnight. Though he was a slight bit guilty about imagining the prince donning his suit (let’s face it, why would a prince need to wear a suit made by the son of a dressmaker? He probably had them ordered from other countries.), and using the prince as the outline of the suit, he was still delighted at what had turned out. Gold and red, complimenting each other well at the shoulders, followed by a deep crimson top with black colored buttons, gold chains connecting at the waist near the pants…THE PANTS!

Furiki groaned loudly. He had forgotten to make the pants! Now that he was exhausted after working through the night, losing his streak had made his will to continue follow along, now he wished for nothing better than to lie down in his small cosy and comfortable bed, close his eyes and go to sleep.

And so he did.

~~

Seishi woke up, the pounding in his head not only still present, but seems to have gotten worse as compared to yesterday. This was not something that one could simply ignore, even if it was Aka Seishi. He lay in bed and closed his eyes, attempting to go back to sleep just to relieve the headache even if by a small bit.

He fell asleep before he knew it.

‘‘Prince Aka! Prince Aka!’’

A voice.

‘‘Prince Aka! Please come back!’’

A soft melodious voice, that sounded of worry.

‘‘Please, d-don’t do this! I-I lo…’’

A boy of short stature.

‘‘Seishi, p-please!’’

The face, not visible, but the voice being vaguely familiar.

‘‘I am sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…’’

Tears dripped down the person’s face, hitting the ground and blurring his vision, like ripples across the surface of a water.

‘Why are you crying? Who are you?’ Seishi wanted to ask, but the voice faded away, bringing alone with it, the rest of his dream.

Even with the end of the dream, his sleep was restless and disturbed. He was surprised when he was woken up by a rather worried looking Rida, and with tears on his face…tears?

Seishi couldn’t remember the last time he had cried. Even when his father had slapped him across the cheek once, not a tear had been shed. Seishi assured Rida that he was okay, before ushering her out of the room.

Despite convincing Rida, Seishi himself was not convinced. There was something in him that screamed and tried to worm itself out, but he refused to let it. His mind was in a jumble, but at least it was not affected as badly as it was before by the headache. Deciding that he was good enough to get back to work, he looked out of the window to see that the sun was rising…no, setting?

Seishi had slept the entire day away.

Mentally cursing himself, Seishi started planning out what he could do in his remaining time. He did not feel that tired so he could probably run an all-nighter. But it wasn’t something that would exactly be recommended. Not that he had a choice. Starting on his work, he got consumed by it soon.

Soft knocks on the window.

Seishi ignored it.

The tapping continued.

Seishi assumed it was the tree outside, except that there were no tress near his study room window.

Creaking of the window as it opened turned Seishi’s head as he looked at the late-night visitor.

Pink long hair tied back into a ponytail, a black bandana covering the forehead and a black jump suit donned on her body, Suki came in through the window.

‘‘If it were anyone else, I would have had them banished from the kingdom for disturbing me at this time of the night.’’ Seishi spoke bluntly, as though the assassin in front of him didn’t have the power to kill possibly every guard in this castle come morning.

Suki simply replied with an innocent grin.

‘‘Well? What business might you have here?’’ Seishi pinched the bridge of his nose as he let his eyes take a break. The only thing keeping Seishi safe from assault was the fact that Suki required Seishi alive to keep receiving information that would be valuable for others, whom exactly he knew Suki would not reveal. Their friendship was merely based on a mutual trust and a truce that Seishi be safe while he provided information.

As Seishi stopped massaging his eyes, he looked back at Suki who had disappeared, leaving a small note behind.

The note spoke, in riddles as usual, ‘‘  
War befall the prosperous place.  
Leaving destruction in its wake.  
Friends give advice that you must heed so.  
Advisors will stand by you, like your blood and soul  
Screams and bloodshed unto this land.  
The king aimed to perish in the end.  
Beware those close to you.  
For the blade of allies, is seeking for you.’’

Seishi was annoyed. Couldn’t Suki just tell him straight up what the problem was?

As far as Seishi could decipher, war was about to befall this place. The King is the target, one of his friends will probably betray him. An advisor, probably Tetsuko, can be trusted in this situation. Now the question was, which friend was about to turn on him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll just upload the rest like next week i guess?  
> I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed making it.  
> No hate for any typos or anything please D:


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One verryyyyyyy loooooooooong chapter.  
> Welp, i should study instead of doing this but hey, one must always remember to smile and be happy!  
> You guys reading this should also go out get some excercise, don't be a stay-home NEET like me ahaha-OTL

Furiki had run into another problem. Once again, his work was complete. However, he had based everything off his imagination of Seishi, therefore his work had only up to 4 colors. Crimson red, honey-golden, pure white as well as midnight black. And while he was fairly quite sure that it would fit the red-head, he wasn’t even sure if Prince Aka was going to be the one wearing the suit he made.

‘‘Well it would be a miracle if he did right ahahaha…’’ Furiki joked to himself, yet even though he said that, there was a small part of him that wished the prince would be the one to wear what he made.

Maybe he should re-make it, even though he knew it would not be as good as what he had just made. Deciding to just leave it, Furiki decided to go out for a walk.

~~

As Seishi and Tetsuko walked along the gardens, Tetsuko walking silently. Seishi knew Tetsuko was examining him, as he always did to everyone around him.

Tetsuko stared at him from the corner of his eye and looked back forward. He knew Seishi had something he wanted to discuss but was not going to pry any further until Seishi decided to speak to him about it.

‘‘Tetsuko.’’

‘‘Yes?’’

‘‘Are you on my side?’’

‘‘…’’

‘‘No that was not a rhetorical question, I am truly asking.’’ Seeing the weird look Tetsuko gave him, Seishi explained. ‘‘I have a feeling that someone is about to attempt to attack the kingdom, yet I cannot seem to see who.’’

Seishi’s eyes and dreams had been known to predict future events quite accurately, which has allowed Seishi to survive many attempts on his life. Yet this time, it was as though something had been clouding him, there have been nightmares, appearance of monsters and such, which completely contradicts reality.

‘‘I might not know where you got the information from, however I would presume it best be for you to be careful of who you ask that question. I could have been a spy for the enemy and you would have just given yourself away.’’

Into his brain and out his mouth, Seishi knew Tetsuko was implying that he was not an enemy, after years of knowing Tetsuko, the way he phrased his words were a dead giveaway as to if he was lying or not.

‘‘Suki gave me a warning.’’

Tetsuko arched an eyebrow.

‘‘I have a rough idea however, I’m not that certain if I’m correct.’’ As Seishi recited the note Suki had left, Tetsuko’s expression changed from interest to worry and back to his usual expressionless face. It was quite amusing to see the usually void of emotion face reveal so much at one go.

‘‘You are right that somebody is going to attempt to kill your father, and probably you as well. Also, where it says friends’ blade, she said allies, meaning that more than one of the people close to you would probably attempt to attack you, so be on your guard.’’

Seishi looked at Tetsuko in amazement, he had noticed something as minute as that, which Seishi had failed to notice. Seeing as it was Suki, she had probably meant the same thing as well. Seishi was now starting to get disturbed. Who would want to overthrow him and the kingdom? Considering friends, it would only be either Ryouse Kita, Midori Shinma, Daimine Aoki or Tetsuko. Since Tetsuko was out, that left the other three fighters. Is more than one of them going to be part of this attempt? Or are all three of them involved?

Seishi sighed, turning back to Tetsuko, he spoke. ‘‘The only way we can figure out who is the one planning to assassinate me and the king, would be to interrogate the people that would most likely be involved.’’

‘‘I highly discourage that.’’

‘‘Then how else will we be able to shut down this operation?’’

‘‘Should news of you interrogating the people in the castle spread, it will alert the people involved that their plan has leaked and you will only fail to shut down their operation completely. They will probably go back into hiding and plot another fight. This will only result in uncertainty for possibly years to come.’’

Seishi hated to agree, for Tetsuko was correct. ‘‘Then do you have another idea?’’

‘‘I will ask around discreetly, and maybe meet with Shinma and Aoki when they come back from their trip.’’

‘‘Trip?’’ Seishi inquired. He had heard nothing about a so-called trip that the two were taking. Furthermore, the two never got along and Seishi was pretty sure that he saw a flash of bright green and dark blue a few hours back when he was with Tetsuko. They had promptly disappeared when Seishi and Tetsuko headed in their general direction.

‘‘Yes, they are going into the commoner’s zone. They estimate that they will be back in around 4 days, since they left 2 days ago, they will be back by the end of this week, before the coronation week starts.’’

Seishi was highly dubious, and a sense of unease regarding the two appeared.

‘‘Tetsuko. Are you sure they stated... This morning...’’

Tetsuko looked at Seishi with his usual impassive face.

‘‘If neither of us were mistaken, then there is that possibility.’’

Seishi looked at his advisor’s face, and knew they were talking about the same thing.

‘‘If the two of them are involved, what about…’’

‘‘Kita-kun would probably be involved as well. Since the Shinma-kun and Aoki-kun are both connected only by Kita-kun, it would be safe to assume that all three of them are involved.’’

‘‘You might want to be wary of your servants as well. Rida-san should be okay since she never got along with anyone except your highness, however it would be best to stay wary of the other servants.’’

Seishi nodded in appreciation and awe of Tetsuko’s deduction skills. It must be difficult for one of age 19 to become a royal advisor but now Seishi knew that Tetsuko earned that title through his own work.

In the shadows of the plants nearby, a pink-haired girl smiled and turned away, vanishing as she blended into the darkness.

~~

Furiki was stressed and on the point of breaking down.

The suit he had spent two whole days and nights making, had disappeared.

Furiki had searched the sewing machine, his cupboard, even the room that held the works of his father and previous generations, yet it was nowhere to be found.

Thinking of the amount of time he had spent on that, only for it disappear made Furiki want to cry once more. However, crying would solve nothing. He needed another suit completed, just in case the one he made had really gone missing. Sitting down in front of his desk, he tried to sketch out a new design, yet his mind was stuck on that one that disappeared. He had worked so hard. He was consoled only by the fact that, with such color choices, it would probably look terrible on everyone.

~~

It’s been three hours. Furiki had completed nothing. It wasn’t that he couldn’t make out a new design, but his mind kept wandering to possible places where the black and red suit had gone to. He did not turn when he heard his mother come in, and she had left as silently as she had when coming in.

Furiki finally put his pen down, on the blank piece of paper, and stepped over the crushed pieces of work, that he had deemed unusable, which was lying around his room. His name had been called down for dinner, and it was a family ‘‘tradition’’ that everyone ate dinner together regardless of how busy they were.

Furiki went down glumly. Only a few days ago had he announced (in a fit of happiness before realizing how bad the color choices were), that he had nearly completed the suit that his father had asked of him. Now that the suit was gone, he would have to either tell his parents or make a new one in less than a few days. Both options were going to be hard, seeing as his father was adamant about a dressmaker keeping their works safely kept, and that Furiki doubted he could make anything proper in a few days. That suit was a one-time thing, probably.

As Furiki sat down in front of the food that had been laid out on the table by his mother, and felt a slight twinge of guilt for leaving his sickly mother to prepare dinner all by herself. 

‘‘Furiki! Come here! I must say, your completed work was far beyond expectation and the color scheme was… unique I must say.’’ Furiki’s father spoke to Furiki. ‘‘Why did you think of using such colors? And how did you figure out who the suit was for? I am fairly certain I did not tell you, just in case you got stressed out.’’

Furiki spoke in a low voice, feeling as though he himself would break and shatter if he spoke any louder. ‘‘I don’t know who the suit is for. And I know my choice of colors was terrible, you don’t have to mask out your words dad.’’

‘‘Terrible? No, just the opposite, your work was indeed quite fascinating and I must say, you certainly have quite a skill for this. I cannot believe that you didn’t know who the suit was for, yet created such clothing that fits the prince perfectly! I even brought it in to the palace today, after chancing upon it, to have the prince try it on, and it fit really well! Even the prince himself was quite pleased with how it turned out!’’

Furiki was silent for a moment, letting the words his father had just said sink in. He had made a suit for the crown prince. The exact same person that he had based the suit off. 

And more importantly, the suit was not gone, it had simply been tried out by the prince!... The prince?

Furiki’s eyes widened and he stared at his father for a moment, unable to believe what his father had just spoke. ‘‘THE PRINCE?!’’

Furiki yelled, not caring that the neighbors could, and probably had, heard him. Furiki was stressed. The prince is wearing the suit he made? Was it a dream? It was every tailor’s dream to have a suit that would fit the taste of the royal family. Furthermore the suit was probably going to be worn for the upcoming crowning day! Furiki pinched himself to ensure he was not asleep.

‘‘Furiki, before you start screaming or fainting, please eat your dinner first! I know you are happy but standing there will not fill your stomach.’’ Furiki’s mother chided the boy who was now blanking out in front of his father.

~~

Seishi strolled happily, but with grace, down the hallways. He was happy-no, delighted with the work the dressmaker had-no, the dressmaker’s son had produced, and was expecting great things from the boy that was said to be around the same age as Seishi himself.

While walking along, Seishi suddenly felt a sense of foreboding doom, right before he got tackled from the back by someone. Training and instincts instantly kicked in and Seishi turned to attempt to flip the person over his head, without looking at who it was. The attacker was easily tossed over his head, only to land on his feet.

Seshi glared at the attacker as the person, Tetsuko?!, landed gracefully on his feet as though he was the one who jumped rather than being thrown over Seishi’s head.

‘‘I hope you have an explanation for this insolence, Tetsuko. While we might be close, I will not tolerate such behaviour.’’

Tetsuko was silent and merely pointed to the wall behind Seishi.

An arrow stuck out of the wall where Seishi’s face would have been, if not for Tetsuko’s help. Seishi glanced at the arrow, then to Tetsuko, muttered a soft apology and thanked him, before turning back to examine the arrow lodged in the wall. It looked normal, similar to the training arrows used for the new recruits. It was possible that one of the recruits had accidentally missed and shot it through the window, of which the training ground was on the other end of the castle and that the floor they were on was too far too high to be easily aimed through. That was too many coincidences, but there was no proof that anyone had been trying to hit him.

As Seishi reached out and was about to remove the arrow, he heard Tetsuko exclaim. ‘‘Stop! Don’t touch the arrow!’’

One does not usually order the king or the prince around, but Seishi knew better than to not heed the advice of the Royal Advisor. Seishi instantly froze in his spot, his fingers nearly touching the arrow. Seishi looked back at Tetsuko, who was walking towards the arrow, his eyes holding a weird gleam. Tetsuko closely examined the arrow for a moment before picking it up by the end feathers. Seishi looked questioningly at Tetsuko.

‘‘If you had touched this arrow carelessly like you were about to, you would very likely have gotten yourself poisoned.’’ Tetsuko said it in such a monotonous way, in the way one talked about the weather or other unimportant events, rather than the possible death of the Crown Prince. 

‘‘Then would you care as to explain how you are holding it as of now?’’

‘‘The shooter has to have held it somewhere to be able to fire it. The most likely area would be the feathered end, which unlike the rest of the arrow, is not covered in splinters or jagged edges, and does not seem to have this particularly weird slime covering.’’

Seishi looked at the ‘‘Slime’’ covering the arrow, and asked, ‘‘And would the slime be the supposed poison?’’

‘‘I believe so.’’

‘‘Then does that mean Murashi would probably know about it?’’

Tetsuko nodded, before telling Seishi to beware and head back to the safety of his room.

Seishi complied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys see any grammar or spelling errors, do help an point it out by commenting, cause I don't dare to get any of my friends to help me read this and check for errors Q A Q (Fudanshi problems).  
> So it'd be a great help if you could point out any errors, or if there was something you don't understand. I'd be happy to reply or correct it!~~~


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too much.  
> Too many lines.  
> I need chill.  
> OTL someone help me.

Murashi, the tallest man in the kingdom, stood staring down at Tetsuko, who was probably more than half his height. Tetsuko had approached him out of the blue and had been following Murashi around ever since he refused to examine a weird substance that Tetsuko had ‘‘supposingly found’’.

Murashi sighed, ‘‘Tet-chin is so annoying, you want me to examine a substance but you won’t tell me where you found it, then why should I help you?’’

‘‘That is a secret as to where I found it, however I assure you it is of utmost importance that you examine this substance as soon and as quickly as possible.’’

‘‘But that’s so troublesome…I’ve was working on a new experiment late last night only for it to have disappeared or been stolen, and it has already gotten on my nerves.’’

Tetsuko raised an eyebrow at what Murashi just said. ‘‘And what was the purpose of this new experiment?’’

‘‘Hmmm? Oh Shin-chin and Ki-chin came by complaining about some pest infection that poisoned food and such seemed to not work on, so I helped them make a concoction that would get them off of me. Now that it’s disappeared I have to make it again, or else Ki-chin would come and annoy me again.’’

A pest infection? Since when was there a pest infection? Tetsuko was intrigued by Murashi’s strange answer, but Murashi was not one to lie as he found it ‘‘too troublesome’’.

‘‘And when did they ask for it?’’

‘‘Hmmm? Was it yesterday? Or two days ago… I dunno, I forgot. But it was yesterday or the day before. Anyway, Tet-chin can just leave your substance with Tat-chin, he’ll pass it to me later on. I want to go shopping now so please stop following me.’’

And with that, Murashi walked off, leaving Tetsuko to ponder about some very interesting finds.

~~

Furiki was stressed. In a few days, he would have to go meet the Crown Prince, and frankly speaking, Furiki didn’t exactly have the best memories with the Crown Prince, with their first meeting consisting of being intimidated into calling the council of elders ‘Old geezers’. He had been scolded terribly for that by his father.

Furiki was required, as the next-in-line Royal Dressmaker, and as the one who designed the suit for Prince Aka, to attend the Crowning Ceremony. Furiki was terrified at such an idea, as he could not imagine himself, standing once more in front of that overwhelming power. Furthermore, he had nothing to wear to such an event, and he dared not use the valuable cloth they had to make a suit for himself.

Putting his head on the table, he sighed. It all started after his father had proclaimed that Furiki’s suit had been chosen for wearing by the Crown Prince for the Crowning Day. The next day, a letter had arrived, that invited Kouhata Furiki, ‘maker of the suit’, to the Crowning Day palace celebration, as the prince wished to meet the maker of such a ‘beautiful masterpiece’. Furiki had blushed on reading that, but soon turned from blushing into horror when he realized he had nothing appropriate to wear for such an occasion.

Even after hours of ransacking his measly closet, hoping to have a suit that would ‘‘magically appear’’ out of nowhere that would fit such an event, Furiki came out with nothing. It wasn’t such a surprise, since Furiki could probably tell any random person on the street the contents of his closet correctly.

Sighing, Furiki slouched against the closet and rested his head on it. He would probably have to buy a suit, or make one, or maybe he could borrow one his father’s older suits, but considering the difference in sizes between the two, that was an unlikely choice.

Ticking off his choice of people whom he could ask, Furiki started feeling desperate. Fuku and Kawa were his two close friends, but they were not even as close to well-off as 

Furiki and even Furiki’s family wasn’t exactly that well themselves, so Furki doubted he could ask for help from them. Kaga was probably his next choice, or more precisely, Kaga’s brother, Himuya Tatsuro. He remembered that he and Tatsuro were quite similar in size, and that their family was quite well-off. Furiki could probably ask Tetsuko to ask them for help.

Deciding that was the best course of action, Furiki went out after telling his mother, hoping for a chance meeting with the invisible boy since it was almost impossible to notice that Tetsuko even if he was walking beside you.

Furiki was in luck. Tetsuko found him(rather than the other way round) and came over to greet Furiki. As usual, Tetsuko knew that Furiki had a problem before Furiki even opened his mouth to mention it.

As Furiki told Tetsuko about his current situation, Tetsuko destroyed the final glimpse of hope he had. ‘‘I’m afraid neither Kaga nor Himuya can help you as of now, for they are both out of the kingdom.’’

Furiki’s smiled stayed on for a moment longer as he processed the words, before his smiled faltered and he felt like a bomb was just dropped on him.

‘‘But what do I do now?! That was my final hope, and if that’s the case then I’ll have nothing to wear to the coronation, and my father specially instructed for me to go!’’

Tetsuko looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking. ‘‘I have some clothes that might be able to fit you, even though I’m not that certain if it will, although I think it is worth a try.’’

Furiki looked up at Tetsuko in delight. The blunette’s stature was actually around the same as Furiki, but the lack of presence made him seem shorter and smaller than he actually is.

Well whatever, at least there was a possibility of hope now!

A smiling Furiki would have looked as though he had gone mad for most of the people in the marketplace, a goofy grin on his face as he got dragged along by some invisible force by the hand.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, Sorry for late updatesssss~~  
> It's nice to leave kudos, thanks~~  
> Moving house, no Wi-Fi, no updates Q n Q even now I'm using my school's free Wi-Fi to update this -cries-  
> I'll get onto doing this after I finish all my projects that I have in line.  
> But shouldn't be more than two weeks, so stay tuned~  
> <3

Tetsuko smiled at himself for his interesting finds. After helping Furiki with his dress-code problem, Tetsuko was now heading back to find Murashi, hoping to have the substance completely examined.

Entering the small office-like house, Tetsuko greeted the clerk, Takanari Kazuo, who merely smiled at him in return. Kazuo was one of the few who could always seem to see Tetsuko, which was quite surprising in the beginning but Tetsuko was now used to it.

‘‘Murashi-san has been in quite a bad mood since a few nights ago but it got worse yesterday, so I’d advise you either bring sweets or come back another day~’’ Kazuo spoke cheerfully, as though speaking about someone who wasn’t capable of popping heads like balloons.

‘‘I will probably be fine, thank you for your concern Kazuo-san.’’ Tetsuko left Kazuo behind in the room with that, only to enter a brightly lit room, a different spectacle from what Tetsuko would normally expect of the giant purple head.

‘‘Tet-chin.’’

Murashi greeted Tetsuko with one word, but that was enough to tell Tetsuko that something was off.

‘‘Murashi-kun. Is something of matter?’’

‘‘Tet-chin. Tell me.’’ Murashi stood up and walked towards Tetsuko, his towering presence amplifying the threatening aura that was overflowing of Murashi. ‘‘Where did you find this, particular substance?’’

‘‘I have told you that I am in no-’’

‘‘TELL ME!’’

Even Tetsuko who was trained in not revealing any emotions, flinched slightly at the sudden outburst by Murashi. Murashi, who was known as the gentle giant, and spent hours making concoctions that could heal and sickness that people had. Murashi, who was loved by children for his warm and lazy smiles, and for the snacks he always had with him.

‘‘An arrow was shot through the window, coated with this substance, which almost hit Prince Aka.’’

Murashi looked at him for moment longer before turning away, and uttered lowly enough that only Tetsuko could hear.

‘‘The concoction that I made for Ki-chin and Mido-chin. I can separate that substance from this substance. That itself is quite deadly and could kill if injected into the bloodstream. But other than that, I found traces of Arsenic among other not-as-deadly poisons. However, I cannot accept that someone is using MY concoction for killing other people.’’

Tetsuko looked on at Murashi.

‘‘Someone wants to kill Sei-chin.’’

~~

Tetsuko walked back to the castle in silence.

What Murashi had stated was no surprise. It was what came after that was a surprise. ‘‘Don’t trust Ki-chin or Midori-chin. I remember hearing about them being out of the country for a month on travels to a neighboring country. Them coming to me is something off. Don’t trust anything that Kazuo-chin or I might send to you either. If needed, I will have it personally delivered to you.’’

Tetsuko had enough understanding to know that someone might try to deliver something under the pretense of it being from either Murashi or Kazuo. He just needed to tell Seishi about it before anything might happen.

~~

‘‘Prince Aka. A delivery arrived from a sender by the name of Murashi. A letter came along with it. Should I leave it in your room?’’ Rida entered the room holding a brown package in her hands.

Not thinking much about it, Seishi nodded his head and signaled for Rida to leave it on the nearby table, which wasn’t exactly empty, but Rida left it atop the mess of papers anyway. Seishi could feel Rida look at him for a moment and he looked up, gazing directly into Rida’s eyes. Rida’s eyes reminded him of his own everytime he looked into the mirror, cold, hard and slightly unnerving, though not on such a powerful scale as Seishi’s own were. Rida’s eyes were also brown, contrasting the black hair that was her hair.

‘‘Is something of the matter?’’

‘‘Pardon my rudeness, but I feel that I should be the one asking you that, Prince Aka.’’

‘‘What gave it away this time?’’ Seishi smiled, something more a smirk than not. Rida had always managed to see through into Seishi’s emotions, similar to Tetsuko, however hers were more confined to Seishi after working for him for such a long time.

‘‘You have not left your room. You have busied yourself. Food has been requested to be made by me, and you even asked me to let others taste it to see if it would fit your taste. While being a prince, one thing I have learnt is that you value nutrition over taste, and would eat anything nutritious, even if it tastes terrible.’’

Seishi looked at Rida awhile longer.

‘‘Someone is after me.’’

Seishi turned back to his work after that, signaling the end of the conversation between the two, whereas Rida just looked on for a few more moments before nodding slightly and turning away to leave the room, but not before reminding Prince Aka to ‘Get some rest, you are exhausted.’.

Seishi was actually quite happy to have someone that knew something was wrong with him, and would stop asking when he wished. Tetsuko would attempt to force everything out of Seishi if he were the one questioning in this case, which, while nice to know someone cared, could get quite annoying.

Seishi put down his work. A short rest was sounding quite inviting now.

~~

Rida was walking down the aisle back to her room, which was requested a separate one from the servant’s quarters by Prince Aka himself a few years ago.

Something was off, and it wasn’t about someone being after the prince. It was something of importance, probably related to the package, and its sender.

Murashi…

The tall purple-haired giant of the village, the doctor that once made Prince Aka a concoction to heal the raging fever he had when he was younger, probably the last time Prince Aka had fallen sick. There was something that the giant man had said then, but Rida couldn’t seem to remember.

‘‘He does not send parcels whatsoever. Or have you forgotten that after so many years? Sister?’’

‘‘Suki.’’ Rida looked at the pink-haired girl standing in the shadows, facing her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of Action yay~  
> Honestly I feel like I'm not going anywhere with this, I should be focusing on studying ahaha-  
> But I hope you guys like it thus far~~  
> Please read the end Notes Cause I need help deciding Q w Q

Furiki was beyond cloud nine. The piece of clothing that Tetsuko had lent him was really very pretty. The colors were also quite fitting, and apparently ‘‘compliments your brown hair quite well’’, as said by Tetsuko.

Now there would be something to be worn for the coronation. There was only one problem. The clothing, was something similar to a dress, with the way it drags slightly over the ground. It had a very pretty olden design of the forest, and beautiful birds carefully stitched on. Furiki must ask Tetsuko who made this beautiful art someday-No that isn’t the point! How could Furiki wear something so similar to a dress to the coronation! This would be a direct insult to the prince who had invited him to the coronation!

Furiki was going to give up on life if this continued. Over one coronation event, Furiki had met so many problems. Furiki wasn’t sure if he wanted to go anymore, even if it was the good-looking prince, who probably didn’t remember him. Why would he? There was only one time they met and Seishi had completely terrified the spirits out of Furiki.

Furiki sighed and cringed at the scolding he would receive from his father should he decide to turn down the invitation to the coronation which is in a few days. Perhaps he could call in sick on that day and skip the event! Furiki doubted that his father would leave it at that though.

Furiki plopped down onto his bed. There would be no running away from this.

~~

Seishi opened the package and viewed the clear looking fluid inside. A package from Murashi huh. How unique. It’d probably be either vitamins or medicine for some sickness, or maybe poison. Definitely the latter. Murashi does not send gifts, he passes them personally. Whoever tried to send this under the pretense of him being the one to send failed to realise that fact.

Seishi took the fluid and poured a small amount into the soil of the potted plant that Tetsuko had given him once, used to test unknown fluids and such. Really, Tetsuko gave such weird birthday gifts, Seishi smiled to himself as Aida charged right into the room at that exact moment.

Seishi and Ada stared at each other for a few seconds before Aida realized what she had done and apologized.

‘‘I’m sorry about the intrusion, however I remembered something about the gift that might have seemed off, due to the sender being a particular person.’’

‘‘Sharp, however not fast enough. If I had drunk that already, it’d be too late already. However, it must be noted that you did remember about Murashi’s personal delivery habits.’’ 

Seishi smiled, proud of Aida’s skill in remembering and immediately returning.

Aida blushed slightly at Seishi’s compliment before turning a questioning look to the action of pouring that Seishi was doing.

Seishi merely looked and smiled. ‘‘Tetsuko simply gives such fascinating gifts, does he not?’’

The leaves of the plant were, slowly but undeniably turning a shade of red. Some rare plant that was used to test for poisons and such, Seishi remembered Tetsuko talking about it and saying that Seishi should keep one around ‘just in case’. It is at times like these that make Seishi wonder if Tetsuko could see the future like he could.

‘‘I will be fine. I’ll just pay a visit to Murashi to ask about this concoction later on.’’ Aida nodded and left the room.

Just as Aida left the room, a very sweaty Tetsuko appeared within the room.

Seishi looked amusingly at the usually straight-faced boy that had a tinged of pink on his cheeks as Tetsuko tried to catch his breath. A cute and rare sight, and Seishi took the chance to note how Tetsuko grown slightly in the few years they had known each other, being still shorter than Seishi though.

Tetsuko tried to speak while trying to catch his breath, which only resulted in him being completely being nearly incomprehensible. ‘‘A delivery. From. Murashi. No. Accept.’’   
Huffing. ‘‘Might. Poison.’’

Seishi waited for Tetsuko to realise what he was doing himself.

Tetsuko finally stood upright and looked at Seishi, before giving a small smile.

‘‘Well that was a waste of my time.’’

‘‘Why, don’t you trust my skill in keeping myself alive?’’

‘‘Of course I do, I’m a form of back-up after all. Just in case.’’  
Seishi and Tetsuko smiled at each other before starting to laugh. The situation seeming to be forgotten and not as important.

~~

Furiki has given up. Coronation in twelve days. Twelve days before he had to meet the prince. His father had completely turned down his request to skip the coronation. Not that it was completely unexpected. Furiki had foreseen that his father wouldn’t allow his son to skip the event. Especially not when ‘‘The Crown Prince himself had specially written a letter’’.

Furiki decided to try out the clothes that he had gotten from Tetsuko. It was pretty, but would it really fit Furiki as Tetsuko said? It was worth a try he supposed.

Furiki first put on the undergarment that was a part of the…dress? Furiki couldn’t find any other way of addressing the clothing. A light white cloth that hugged his body quite snugly. It was smooth and didn’t scratch the skin, definitely of good quality, probably silk or such. Next was the dress itself. While it could probably pass off as a proper suit, what with its design on the shoulder, the bottom part of it still looked like a dress no matter how one looked at it. It was probably made to be similar to a petticoat.

As Furiki looked at himself in the mirror that stood beside his table, he smiled to himself. It was probably going to work out afterall. If he were a girl. Furiki knocked his head lightly on his table. This was going to end in disaster.

~~

Aida walked through the empty and silent halls of the castle. It was past midnight, so that was to be expected. The only living beings that met her were the guards and the lone mouse that had come out to forage for food, only to meet an untimely death. Aida merely continued walking after retrieving the knife and tucking it back into her secret pouch. The other maids will clean it up tomorrow.

Stepping into the garden, what many others might merely assume as a cold wind, Aida recognized the killing intent that was emanating and diffusing into the cold air of the night.

‘‘I’m surprised none of the guards have noticed your presence when you’re nearly reeking of killer intent.’’ Aida stepped out into the center of the garden, a pretty design chosen by the Prince himself. Stones and Archways decorated the whole place, with a number of creeping rose plants surrounding some of them, giving a slightly wild and free look.

Suki strolled out with a small smile playing on her lips, eyes covered by her pink bangs that laid down and covered the near the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were not visible, but Aida could tell that they, while not facing her, were watching her every move.

Aida sighed, before leaping from her original position, charging towards Suki.

Suki instantly retaliated, blasting herself off the ground onto the top of a nearby pillar, where she crouched quite low. Launching herself from her position, Suki tried to land an axe kick down onto Aida, who turned to avoid, and swung her own leg out in a sweeping kick. Suki pushed herself out of the way using Aida’s leg as a catapult. Suki somersaulted twice in the air before landing on her feet gracefully. Aida looked on at Suki, trying to calculate her next move, whereas Suki returned it with an innocent smile.

Aida made a quick motion to brush her hair out of her face before charging towards Suki again. Suki leaped swung her leg upwards in an act that would put most gymnasts to shame, perfectly intercepting Aida’s attempt to land a hit on her stomach.

A flash of silver, and a cut on Suki’s face could be seen.

A moment of distraction.

Would have been fatal if this were a real battle.

Before Suki realized, she was on the ground with Aida’s hand on her neck.

‘‘Skilled in battle, but still lacking realization of possible skills in assassination and such. Assassination is not all about brute battles, remember the little tricks that would result in victory being closer and defeat being impossible.’’

Only in these moments does Suki remember the killer behind the mask of a subservient maid of Aida. Suki smirked and looked up at the dark silhouette of her senior, wondering when she’ll be able to keep up with this powerful woman who held the worthy title of Night Crawler. Suki was merely borrowing that title. One day the one who held it would be back to take it back.

But for now, Suki was content to know that the person who was that skilled was still on the same side. Everything was going to be fine. But not for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY GUYS, THOSE THAT READ TAKASHINANA'S STORY I NEED HELP DECIDING IF I SHOULD GO WITH:
> 
> 1) Ending One  
> 2) Ending Two
> 
> For those that haven't please don't, cause there's spoilers in there. But if you've read already, please give me advice on which ending to choose.
> 
> Or should I just connect the second ending in another story and list it as a series?  
> Advice please Q w Q I'm so confused and I can't continue any further till I get this sorted out.  
> Cause a change in the ending will mean i need different direction with my plot starting like what, two chapters back((oops)).


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I am very sorry for the longass plot development, I should've put that in the tags as well, but mehz.  
> Secondly, Kudos, comments and criticizations(in moderations) are appreciated.  
> Thirdly, I STILL NEED HELP DECIDING THE PLOT PLEASE GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS Q A Q

Furiki had finally found a way to be able to attend the coronation. He just hoped that Tetsuko wouldn’t mind what had happened to the clothing.

A little bit more of editing and the clothes would be completed. Furiki had altered the length of the clothing, as well as converting the flowy ends into two parts, making it into pants instead. He had also added some frilly imprints as well as stitching some patterns into it.

‘‘Much better!’’ Furiki smiled, proud of his work. He just hoped this was something that was appropriate enough to wear to such a grand event.

‘‘Furi-dear! Are you here?’’

Furiki’s mother could be heard calling from the other room. She sounded…weak? In all the time Furiki’s mother was sick, she never sounded sick whatsoever. She always did her best, smiled when she could, scolded him whenever he did something wrong, went out to do grocery shopping, baked cakes and more.

Furiki felt a sense of foreboding as he left his room and entered his mother room.

He found his mother seated on the ground, looking as though she just fell down.

‘‘Mother! Are you okay? What happened?’’ A very frantic Furiki exclaimed as he helped her up.

‘‘Nothing too serious dear. I merely felt slightly out of it and fell when I was about to head to bed. Then I couldn’t seem to get up, nothing much. I’ll be fine if I rest for awhile.’’ 

Furiki wanted to cry at the small smile that remained on his mother’s face. ‘‘And! Don’t tell your father! He’ll merely make a big deal out of this again! Honestly, the last time this happened, he almost ran to the palace to get the royal physician to help!’’

Furiki giggled at the recollection. His father had overreacted, and received a very harsh scolding from Furiki’s mother. Furiki had been quite worried himself at that time, but now that he thought about it, he found it amusing and funny.

‘‘Furi-dear, could you stay for a moment? I want to take a rest, and it would be better if there was someone here close to me right now.’’ Furiki’s mother gave a slow and small smile. ‘‘Of course, if you’re busy you could just head off-’’

‘‘What are you talking about?! Of course it’ll be fine for me to stay here! That’s if you want me to.’’ Furiki hurriedly spoke.

Furiki got a chair and was about to sit down when his mother said: ‘‘If possible, could you sleep with me, like the way you did when you were younger? Oh it feels like yesterday when you were crawling into my bed in the middl-’’

‘‘Mom!!!’’ Furiki exclaimed in horror. ‘‘That was so many years ago! I’m already past eighteen now!’’

‘‘Oh, but only a few days ago, didn’t you come nearly in tears about how the suit you made was a total disaster and that you didn’t want to continue and I had to cheer you up then you continued bawling your ey-’’

‘‘Okay, Okay! I’ll get in the bed mom please stop!!!’’ Furiki couldn’t handle any more embarrassment and crawled into the bed with his mother.

His back faced his mother as she wrapped one arm around his waist, the other hand slowly rubbing his head affectionately. Her chest pressed against his back. In this position,  
Furiki could feel the thumping of his mother’s heart, beating strongly. The rhythmical thumping alongside the soft patting of his head slowly lulled him into a dreamless sleep.

~~

Tetsuko and Seishi both stood on the open window overlooking the garden. A small and pleasant breeze blew through. At this time of the night, no-one would be around to disturb the two of them, except for the possibility of the occasional midnight guards patrolling the grounds.

Both of them didn’t say anything, but the slightly stiffer back of Tetsuko and the narrowed eyes of Seishi meant that they both felt it. The menacing aura of killer intent was emanating from the garden. From the strength of it, the person was experienced. Yet, a person of such powerful killer aura should know how to hide their killing intent. Meaning that, whoever was the one giving it off, wanted their presence to be known.

Just as Seishi was about to turn, Tetsuko grabbed his arm.

‘‘Watch.’’

One word. It was all it took to convince Seishi to stay and watch what might unfold.

Not very long after, Rida turned up at the garden. Seishi instantly widened his eyes. ‘‘She might be in danger. I’ll go get her out before anything happens.’’

Tetsuko tightened his grip on Seishi’s arm.

Seishi looked back at Tetsuko.

‘‘Unhand me. She is in danger.’’

Tetsuko took one long sideways glance at Seishi. The perfect blue eyes, color of the shallow waters of the sea in the North reflected in them. Seishi had never been out of the  
kingdom, much less the North where the sea was said to be. But a traveler had once said that Tetsuko’s eyes were the color of the shallow waters of the sea. Clear and blue, yet hiding a deep darkness within it.

Seishi stood his stance and Tetsuko continued holding on.

Tetsuko suddenly flicked his attention back to Rida, and…Suki?

Seishi was confused. As far as he knew, the two had no relations. So Suki was the one releasing the killer intent. Before he realized what happened, Rida had launched herself at  
Suki. Seishi almost shouted in alarm. Rida, as far as he knew, had no training. Thinking about it, he knew almost nothing about Rida’s past nor present.

Rida seemed to be losing, expected since she was up against Suki, the Night Crawler.

Rida did something, being from a distance, Seishi thought he saw a flash of darkness encircling the two of them. It looked like a bird? Bat? Rida charged at Suki, who blocked the attack. The dark item took a small turn and instantly headed toward the two.

‘‘A shuriken. From Rida. Suki’s got hit.’’

Seishi got distracted, turning his head to look at Tetsuko for a moment. How did he see everything so clearly?

When he turned his head back, Rida was holding Suki down onto the ground.

Seishi had seen enough. He turned and left. Tetsuko didn’t move from his spot. Both of them needed time to contemplate things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With that there, I'm just gonna go with what Furihata Kouki sent to Akashi Masaomi~


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I,  
> am SOOOOO,  
> sorry for this chapter. Please don't kill me for what you're about to read, don't kill me whatsoever(At least let me finish this before you do anything O w O).  
> I offer my sincerest apologies for this, I totally didn't mean for it to end up like this(And honestly if you read TakashiNana's story, this would be quite contradictory in Furihata's viewpoint).  
> It somehow took a dark turn because I felt like it, AND I WENT ON AND FINISHED A FEW MORE CHAPTERS SO NOW IM TOO LAZY TO REDO FOUR CHAPTERS AHAHAHA-nvm someone kill me now.

Rida knew something was off. Something had happened, Seishi was keeping his distance from her for the past hour. She just acted as though she didn’t. Yet internally, she was disturbed. If things went off track from her plans due to this, she would have to start from scratch again. ‘‘No mistakes are allowed.’’ She mentally said to herself as she pushed open the door to the Prince’s room.

~~

Seishi’s head instantly shot up on hearing the opening of the door to his room. No-one should be here at this time. It was quite late at night. Suki didn’t enter via the doors, and Tetsuko wouldn’t make a single sound even if the creakiest doors were used.

Seishi’s eyes widened ever so slightly on seeing Rida, but tried to conceal the slight discomfort of her presence with a smile. He knew Rida saw through it, but she chose not to comment on it.

‘‘It is quite late at night, I’d presumed your highness would be asleep at this time, so pardon my intrusion.’’

Rida stated as though entering the Prince’s room in the middle of the night were the most natural thing in the world and no-one should question it.

‘‘Well, I have to say, my work is not near complete, however you…’’Seishi eyed the servant closely. ‘‘I’m more surprised to see you here at this hour. What brought you here?’’

‘‘The night is usually the only time I can enter this room without disturbing your highness, and it is when I come in to clear up the mess that your highness,’’ Seishi could feel a small amount of venom in those words. ‘‘MAY have ACCIDENTALLY caused.’’

‘‘Why, are you implying that I am messing up this room on purpose?’’ Seishi smiled as a small part of him relaxed. This was the Rida he knew, one who would chide him and blame him, however indirectly, for causing troubles.

‘‘Of course I wouldn’t dare, your highness, however I am truly apologetic for messing up your room which was clean every evening.’’ Rida had a small gleam in her eyes and she and Seishi stared into each other’s eyes for a moment.

A small chuckle escaped Seishi as he couldn’t help feeling relaxed in the presence of the maid again. Rida merely smiled and nodded at the Prince before starting work on dusting the shelves and arranging books that Seishi had taken down in the day, whereas Seishi went back to work.

~~

It was no coincidence that Rida entered the moment Seishi was in the room. She knew he was going to be there, and she had wanted to patch up whatever problems that had occurred which was making Seishi uncomfortable around her. It worked, and she went back to being a subservient maid, leaving as quickly as she came. Seishi had smiled in her presence, and that was a good enough improvement.

~~

Furiki woke up slightly disoriented. Right, he had slept with his mother the last night. As Furiki snuggled, back against his mother, he tried to sleep. Everything was quiet. The morning birds not yet awoken, the market still silent as people slowly filed in to open up shop. His mother…

Furiki slowly opened his eyes.

‘‘Mom?’’

His mother was silent.

It wasn’t the silence that was made from not speaking. Even in that silence, you could hear one’s breathing and heartbeat. Yet nothing was there. Furiki slowly turned around. His mother’s pleasant face greeted him. A small smile on her face. But other than that, nothing. A pale colouring on her face, making her look like a china doll. Her chest wasn’t moving. Neither were her eyes.

‘‘Mom!’’ Furiki started panicking, shaking his mother in the process. ‘‘MOM!’’

Tears formed, dripping down the slightly tanned cheek and splashing onto the porcelain face of his mother. Yet no reply was heard. Just a silent, smiling body lying there. No reply, no answer, nothing.

Furiki started sobbing, then crying, and before he realised it, he was screaming.

He doesn’t remember when his father came in, or when his brother dragged him out of the room. He doesn’t remember when his father or his brother, someone, fed him pills and forced it down his throat. He doesn’t remember when he took the scissors that were on the sewing table, and tried to stab himself.

All he remembered was, his mother, the one who was there to cheer him up, the one who was there with her supporting smile, the one who was always there with him, was dead.  
He didn’t stop screaming.

He couldn’t, if he did, he’d have to accept that she was gone.

Even though a part of him knew that was the truth, fixed in stone, reinforced with steel, covered with diamond, he didn’t stop.

When his throat went hoarse, voice went silent, and the tears stopped flowing, he stopped. He didn’t cry. He didn’t smile. He didn’t show anything anymore.

Whatever his family tried to do, he would just look at them with dead eyes, so different from the ones that used to shine and sparkle, attracting everyone around him. He stopped smiling. And before anyone realized, he destroyed every single one of his works, except the one that was gifted to the Crown Prince, which was no longer with him.

He stopped making more clothing. He stopped everything. He didn’t eat, sleep, all he did was walk silently, slipping in and out of shadows. An empty shell of the happy and active boy that once existed.

Until one day his father had had enough, gave him a slap that cause him to fall, and shouted at him. ‘‘SHE’S DEAD! MOURNING WON’T BRING HER BACK! YOU BEING MOODY WON’T! YOU BEING SILENT WON’T! SO STOP IT AND GET BACK TO WORKING OR FIND WAYS TO GET YOUR MIND OFF AND OVER IT!’’

Furiki was silent, and merely picked himself off the floor. He just walked down the hall into his room, and closed the door without a sound.

~~

Tetsuko and Seishi both heard the news of the Royal Dressmaker’s wife dying, and had attended the mourning. Tetsuko had met Furiki, who did not speak a single word. Seishi had stepped to one side, but still kept a look-out for the two of them. From what he could see, the two seemed to communicate via telepathy of some sort. Neither of their mouths moved, yet the way they moved signified that they were interacting in some way.

Seishi merely concluded that it was due to Tetsuko being able to read people, as he had heard that the Royal Dressmaker’s son had stopped talking ever since the death of said person’s mother. Seishi had really wished to speak to the Royal Dressmaker’s son once more, seeing as their interactions within the castle were quite short the previous time.  
Yet seeing as the situation is, such a conversation would simply not befit the atmosphere. Conversations would have to be held another time.

In the meantime, Seishi still has not figured out much about Rida. While being indirect, Seishi has found out some things about Rida, some being that she is not illiterate unlike what he first thought (Rida had given him a frown and a hard glare after such an insult), she also has experience in fighting, hand-to-hand combats, which was asked of the king seeing as she was going to be the one protecting the Prince. Seishi had yet to confirm if this was indeed true, seeing as he wished to avoid his father, who was very openly and eager in trying to patch up relations between them, for what reason, Seishi didn’t know, but his father’s friend, Rechi as Seishi recalled, had said it was purely ‘‘Due to belated realizations of lack of love’’. Seishi doubted that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know my updates are quite irregular, but hey, I'm not dying or anything so you can be assured that there will be a next chapter soon~  
> ~  
> ~  
> ~  
> Probably.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for disappearing but exams made me forget things OTL  
> I already failed my first exam because I saw the month of exam wrongly!!!  
> I also almost forgot my password to my Archive Of Our Own account -cries-  
> If I accidentally forget it one day, I might or might not try to create another account to complete this.

Three days left to Coronation Day.

Furiki had had some form of an improvement at the very least. He started to show signs of emotions, occasionally a small smile, or a light frown, but mostly when around Tetsuko. He didn’t seem to have gotten over the way his father had hit him, and the cold war back at his house was now getting highly unbearable, with the absence of his brother and father at work. The silence reminded Furiki too much of that morning, and he chose not to stay in that house as much as possible, preferring to immerse himself in the company of the market ladies, who wisely chose not to comment on anything.

Luckily, the clothing that Tetsuko had chosen for him was safe and untouched from the wrath and happenings of that day. It was the only cloth that Furiki was altering now, having had repercussions from touching and attempting to complete other works, always getting emotional and trying to destroy them.

It was truly a pity, since the works that Furiki made always tuned out fantastic, even now. Yet he was refusing to do anything, and it was good fortune that Tetsuko advised his father and brother not to force anything on him for the time being, as it’d only have counter effects.

The clothing that Furiki planned to wear to coronation became nicer and nicer as the days passed, and it looked almost nothing like it was before. If anything, it’d be considered a masterpiece worthy for even the King to wear.

Handstitched dragons that weaved and flowed, making it seem as though they were flying within the clouds that were already a part of the design. A phoenix, with its vibrant colors, breathed fire of alluring colors down, creating a vivid image of beauty. The trees and forest that were at the very base of the clothing, breathed air into the surroundings, with a light mist covering them, giving them a strange sense of mystery infused into beauty. The small birds and a town that was also imprinted onto the cloth showed the amount of time and focus spent on this work, and if one were to focus down closely, they’d see the small people of the town working hard, with a tiny palace in the distance that strangely resembled the castle that was present in the kingdom.

But Furiki was not pleased with the work. It was not good enough. His works are never good enough. Nothing is ever good enough. But for Tetsuko, and his mother, he’ll complete it, make it the most amazing work and wear it proudly to the coronation, the way his mother had hoped he would. Maybe then he would be forgiven for letting his mother pass away in the night without realizing it, and not being awake for her in her final moments.

 

~~

 

Two days before his father would step down as king. Two days before everything would be restrained, and he would be restrained, weighed down by the duties of being a king. Two more days of freedom, before he would be crowned the day after.

Seishi sighed, even though it was, as his father said, ‘‘An inappropriate action for someone of his status, for he has everything, and nothing else to worry about.’’

Honestly, even though he and his father were supposedly growing closer, said father was still strict and very particular about these things. If anything, it seemed like he was even more particular now. It was probably due to the fact that the crowning was going to be happening soon.

Aside from that, Seishi had been sure to keep regular updates on the Royal Dressmaker’s son through Tetsuko after seeing the two of them together once again during the burial. When he heard that the boy was getting better, Seishi felt a strange sense of relief. Even though he didn’t know why, he just felt happy to have that boy feel better. It was probably in hope that the boy would come to the coronation, after all, he could understand if said boy didn’t wish to attend after such an episode.

Meanwhile, there had still been no news of Shinma, Aoki nor Kita. It seems as though they had disappeared from the face of the earth, even though he had asked around some of his most trusted soldiers and they had said that they’d seen the three around occasionally, yet Seishi had not run into them, and when he sent soldiers to ask for them, it usually came back stating that they were not back from heading out. Bad feelings were beginning to rise, and he had hoped nothing would happen, or that it would not concern them in any form.

Suki had come in only one other time after that midnight battle, and it was to leave another note. This time she had come in while Rida’s back was faced, and seemed in a rush to leave, even though she could probably conceal her presence even if Rida the maid turned around. Seishi wasn’t so sure what might happen if it were to be Rida the fighter from that night in that scenario.

All this note said were three lines, written in a drastically different handwriting from Suki’s usual handwriting.

**_The darkness of battle about to befall._ **

**_How will everything end,_ **

**_After the writhing dark creature beneath finally erupts?_ **

All Seishi could do was sigh and quickly hide it in his pocket as Rida turned over. If Rida truly knew nothing, then Seishi willed it to remain that way. Seishi was starting to think that night was but an illusion, one that didn’t exist. Giving up on thinking too much that night, he merely got up and went to bed, trying not to think too much on things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly entering climax(Not Furi's climax if you get what I mean) ufufufu Shall see when i can next update


	13. Chapter 13

Tetsuko frowned. He did not remember time passing this quickly.

Just awhile more. Darkness is creeping in. He has to act fast. Something will happen soon. No time to wait around and see what will happen anymore. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, except for the absence of those three. Something is up with them. Something must be done before they act.

Tetsuko looked up as the towering shadow appeared in front of him. Three guards. They probably didn’t notice him there. Tetsuko side-stepped to let the guards pass. Just as they were about to walk by, Tetsuko saw, out of the corner of his eye, a hand reaching out for him. Tetsuko instantly leapt out of range, before realizing it was coming from one of the guards.

The middle guard made a ‘Tch’ sound as he attempted to charge Tetsuko. Tetsuko leapt out of range, as the guard on the left ran and tried to make a grab for Tetsuko the moment he landed. Tetsuko smartly jumped off and managed to land a kick on that guard with ease. Tetsuko was looked small, and these guards were clearing underestimating his prowess. Few knew of his ability to fight, as he never once fought in the soldier’s monthly arena battles, and many knew of him only as the youngest Royal Advisor.

The guard who got hit made a small cry of pain as his helmet got smacked down onto his head. Tetsuko knew how the helmets were just made of metal and were for resisting penetration from weapons rather than for protection against impacts. He cleverly used this to his advantage. The guard backed off as the first one attempted to charge him once more. Tetsuko attempted to jump away once more like before, but the guard seemed to expect this as Tetsuko felt his leg get grabbed and he was roughly thrown onto the ground. The air was knocked out of Tetsuko as he felt the rough impact against the floor. It would definitely be bruised later.

Tetsuko slowly got up. He was annoyed, and slightly mad. Going a little serious wouldn’t hurt them too much, and it would be more effective than dragging the battle out, considering Tetsuko’s poor stamina.

Tetsuko took one look at the three ‘‘guards’’. They probably weren’t their guards anyway. None of them seemed to be taking any serious note of him. It meant that they were letting their guard down, and were underestimating him. They were probably told to just get rid of him just in case. Oh well, it makes things easier for him.

Tetsuko concealed his presence and walked up to them calmly, concealing his killer intent and presence before striking.

~~

Furiki walked silently along the corridor, hands trailing behind on the walls of the house. The once warm brown oak wood now felt freezing cold under his touch. The once cozy atmosphere now seemed to house a beast that hid and bit him every corner he turned. He put on his shoes, and walked out of the house, not turning back even once to look at the empty shell of the house. The house, that was no longer a home to him.

Nowadays, all he did was either to add touches to the design of the clothing he was wearing to coronation, talk to Tetsuko, or just walk aimlessly around the market nearby. He doesn’t even talk that much to Fuku or Kawa anymore. Everything else feels like too much trouble. Tetsuko is the only one who seems to understand him without him needing to say anything, so Furiki chose to stay more around Tetsuko. Yet, on days like these when Tetsuko isn’t free, Furiki would find himself bored and void of things to do. While Tetsuko had told the guards to allow Furiki entry into the palace, Furiki rarely entered the place unless necessary. Today, he thinks that he feels up to it, and decides to head to said palace.

Furiki honestly didn’t know what he was to be doing here, but he has nothing better to do anyway. He shouldn’t spend such a nice day away by staying in the house. Yet, life seems not to have decided to mess with him enough, as the moment he entered the palace, he collided with a few guards before he could even take three steps past the main door. One of the guards merely made a ‘Tch’ sound at him before they continued along their way. Furiki made a small sigh before continuing to wander around the palace. Yet again, he crashed into somebody else the moment he took another turn. This time, it is the same pink-haired girl from the last time Furiki was in the palace. The only reason Furiki remembered was due to that unusual and striking hair color. Furiki widened his eyes for a moment as the girl took a look at him. Her eyes were determined, as if on a mission of utmost importance. However, the moment their eyes connected, the look of recognition crossed her eyes before she dragged him away, Furiki unable to fight back due to surprise.

‘‘What are you doing here?! I warned you about wandering the castle! Furthermore, you seem to have really bad luck, crashing into the wrong people at the wrong time, every, single, time!’’

The pink haired girl whispered to Furiki with urgency in her voice, while Furiki could merely stare back at her.

‘‘Well?’’

Furiki continue looking at her.

‘‘Hello?’’

Suki was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable.

‘‘Uh…Are you okay?’’

Furiki nodded in reply.

Suki was about to say something else when a loud smack followed by a crack could be heard echoing down the hallway. Suki’s head instantly turned towards the source of the sound, and charged off without another word. Furiki, not knowing what to do, followed her.

~~

Tetsuko knew they were underestimating him, but he planned not to make the same mistake. He doesn’t know their skills, but as far as seen, the first guard was a fighter, one with quick reflexes. The second was probably an assassin, with his speed and agility. The third one had just merely stood behind and let the other two do the work, so he was probably going to be a tough nut to crack.

The fighter would be the easiest to take down first.

Tetsuko sneaked in between the group and unsheathed the small weapon that was always kept hidden within the folds of his cloak. He managed to get under the fighter undetected, and gave a quick kick vertically upwards. The impact gave the fighter a surprise, but he quickly recovered as he kept his helmet on. A pity, Tetsuko had wished to reveal the identities of the impersonators before engaging them. Tetsuko concealed his presence as the three guards looked around frantically, trying to locate him. Tetsuko sneaked around the back of the fighter gave one quick stab into the back.

‘‘Tch.’’ He’d missed the spine. The fighter howled in pain and spun around instantly with his arm out. This act caught Tetsuko off guard as he felt himself get hit to one side. A cracking sound could definitely be heard, as the slickness and metallic smell of blood invaded his senses. His head’s bleeding.

Tetsuko quickly jumped up, as one of the impersonators tended to the injured fighter, pressing against the wound, while the fighter just groaned in pain.

This was going to be a long fight at this rate, which made Tetsuko contemplate running. After all, there is no disgrace in fleeing, as one would live to fight another day.

‘‘t-Tetsuko?’’

A timid voice snapped everyone to attention, as Furiki peeked his brown mop of a head out of a corner.

Tetsuko instantly widened his eyes in alarm as he processed the danger Furiki was in. Furiki, seemingly not realizing what threat was present, continued looking at Tetsuko in curiosity with his brown eyes.

Before anyone could say anything, one of the imposter guards suddenly charged towards Tetsuko where as another dashed for Furiki, attempting to take him hostage. Furiki would’ve screamed if not for the overwhelming fear that kept his body from acting. It was at this moment where a mop of pink hair dashed out of her hiding place and struck the guard attempting the grabbing of Furiki in the face. Following it up with a kick across the head, Suki successfully managed to hit the helmet off of the imposter-Midori Shinma the genius shooter?!

Tetsuko’s face remained impassive, but not before Furiki caught a small sigh and a short-lived cringe. He had probably expected this. Furiki was seriously freaking out by this time, and the moment he saw Tetsuko bleeding with a knife in his side, Furiki ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm totally sorry that I forgot that I was uploading this online omg Q A Q


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I honestly died for a little while  
> //gets slapped//  
>  i mean a slight bit longer  
> //gets slapped again//  
> OKAY FINE I'M SORRY I DIED FOR SO LONG BUT SCHOOOOOLLLLL Q A Q  
> School is catching up and I failed like three core modules that were needed for me to move up a year so now I'm repeating them and I honestly need to study.  
> Voice in my head: But you haven't.  
> Me: SHUSH.

He knew he was being a coward for abandoning Tetsuko, but after the shock of his mother’s passing, Furiki honestly couldn’t handle watching anyone else die in front of him. Furiki just ran, away from anything that might be chasing him, head down, just charging past servants, maids, guards, any and everyone who might be dangerous.  
He ran, as fast as his legs could carry him, not that fast actually, since he spent more of his time seated and sewing than actually moving around. He ran anyway.

~~

If he had to comment, Seishi would say that his days were getting better, yet it felt eerily similar to the calm before the storm. Seishi could tell that something was brewing in the castle, and it wasn’t the soup for lunch in the kitchen.  
Everything was slightly evened out with Rida, making that night seem like a mere dream that never really occurred. Seishi had even attempted to indirectly hint at the events that happened, but Rida had not even flinched or shown anything. She was either really innocent, or an expert at hiding things. Tetsuko was present, and even he didn’t seem to see anything out of the ordinary after that.  
Now, Seishi was merely on a short walk around the castle in an attempt to find Tetsuko and hope that he could discuss the unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach with the bluenette.

~~

‘‘Since our identities are probably out now, let’s just settle this shall we not?’’  
Midori Shinma calmly stated as the two others beside him, Daimine Aoki and Ryouse Kita, removed their helmets. The small stab wound near the spine of Aoki prevented him from removing his own one, and requiring help from Kita to remove the heavy chunk of metal from his head. As Suki and Tetsuko stood side-by-side roughly sizing up the trio, the duo just knew that this kingdom was in deep danger if this small battle were to be lost.

~~

Furiki turned a corner and crashed into someone, without looking up, he started apologizing and bowing repeatedly. Gentle hands grabbed his arms, and only then did he realise he was crying, tears flowing down his face.  
Looking up, Furiki looked into the eyes of a maid who was looking at him in slight annoyance and slight concern. Her eyes look questioningly into his, and all he could muster between sobs of his out-of-breath body was one word: ‘‘Tetsuko’’.  
As though that were enough information, the maid looked at him once more before carrying him up princess style.  
Furiki squawked in indignation at being carried up so suddenly and in such an embarrassing position, but one small glare from the maid silenced him. Furiki thought he saw the eyes of a beast within that of the maid that was carrying him for a moment. All he could do was to remain silent as the maid carried him and quickly headed down the hallways, where to Furiki did not know, and silently waited to find out.

~~

‘‘We both know how the two of you are on the losing end of the stick, even with Aoki down, it’s not possible for Suki to protect Tetsuko with us after him. Added onto the agreement we with made with Suki, she cannot speak a word about the revolution that will occur. Therefore, escaping would be a better option for you, Suki.’’  
Midori spoke as though the battle had been won, and Tetsuko hated it. A small part of him that he suppressed for so long, writhed and roared to be set free, yet Tetsuko remained calm and spoke.  
‘‘Run, Suki, this is no battle of yours. I will be fine.’’  
‘‘Tetsuko!-’’  
‘‘Leave.’’  
The dangerous aura that surrounded the usually invisible boy could be used to pressure even the most disobedient of pets, and to have it come from Tetsuko, Suki honestly did not want to figure out what was going to happen.  
‘‘I’m sorry.’’  
Two words were said before Suki leapt out of the closest window and escaped.  
‘‘In all honesty, I am surprised you didn’t try to make a dash for it while she occupied us. I shouldn’t have expected less from you after all.’’  
Midori spoke to Tetsuko, not giving a second glance to the aura emanating from the shorter boy, believing that he could do nothing to him. A terrible mistake, as Tetsuko thought as he smiled to himself.  
Tetsuko looked up at the trio, Aoki who was slowly getting up, Kita who was just flashing an innocent grin, and Shinma who was standing there, dignified as ever.  
‘‘Not even your closest friends get to see your true blade.’’  
Tetsuko said before looking up and noting the delightful reactions he got such as Kita’s face turning pale, Shinma’s eyes widening and Aoki’s face frowning in fear, all from seeing the tiny transformation that had occurred.  
Fear, the most powerful weapon to ever exist. Tetsuko happily relished in their fear, before he attacked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates gonna be slowwwwwww, but I'll come back everytime I remember~  
> Plus I made a sticky note on my phone, my computer and in a random paper in my wallet so I don't forget my password for AoT again.  
> Nowwwwww, to start thinking of where my plot was headed from before.


	15. Chapter 15

When Furiki and the maid who was carrying him previously peered around the corner, Furiki could only gape in horror at the three seemingly unconscious bodies lying around his feet, with Tetsuko just peering down at them and giving an occasional light kick to test if they were alive.

‘‘Tetsuko…?’’

Furiki wasn’t sure if it was the same person he knew, with the overwhelming sense of power and dread rolling off in waves from the usually silent and unnoticeable boy.

Everything seemed weird, even though Furiki couldn’t see the face, he knew that something was off about Tetsuko, as though it was a completely different person from who he knew.

‘‘Hello…? Tetsu-mmhm…!’’

Furiki’s mouth got covered by the maid from before, but not before Tetsuko heard them and spun around, in a pose ready to fight any incoming enemies.

Furiki inhaled sharply at Tetsuko’s face.

Blue markings at the edge of his eyes, changed the usually expressionless demeanour into one which held threats of death even without a single word being uttered. A red marking right in the middle of his forehead would make one think of it as a tattoo, but anyone who even knew of Tetsuko would know he had no such thing. Thin purple lines crosshatched what seemed to be an overextended eyeliner of the blue markings of Tetsuko’s eyes.

Only a few words word be able to describe what Tetsuko looked like at the moment, some might say fascinating, but the only thing Furiki thought of was: Terrifying.  
Furiki blacked out.

Just as Tetsuko was about to help Furiki, a presence caught Tetsuko’s notice.

It increased to two.

Then three.

Tetsuko whipped his head around, and stared at the three now, definitely conscious, soon-to-be considered traitors of the kingdom.

Midori did his typical glasses-pushing, which led notice to the similar markings across his face that you could see along Tetsuko’s. Rida stared in fear at the three that Tetsuko was now facing against. All of them looking inhuman. If anything that Rida learnt from being under teacher, a fight between the supernaturals never ended well for both parties, especially when her teacher was the very one who was being involved in this battle.

‘‘Run.’’

A calm and collected voice penetrated Rida’s mad rush of disorganized thoughts, and she did the first thing that her brain processed. She picked up the poor brown haired boy lying on the ground and dashed away, attempting to escape, she fled with the boy in her arms.

‘‘Oh well, we can get her later, all eyewitnesses shall cease to exist. I merely have a question for you, Tetsuko, since you are one of us, why do you stand with a kingdom of peace? Our existence thrives off chaos and death. This arrangement of peace will do us no good, and will only render us weak and vulnerable.’’

Midori looked questioningly at Tetsuko, and was replied with merely silence.

Sighing, Midori spoke. ‘‘Daimine, go after the two that just left. Tetsuko can’t fight two half-bloods here.’’

‘‘Gah, why do I have to waste so much energy chasing after two weaklings, it’s so annoying ugh!’’

‘‘Just get going, NOW.’’

‘‘Fine, fine I got it, geez you’re like my mom or something.’’

Just as Daimine was about to rush after the two escapees, he found himself almost on a receiving end of a punch to his gut again, and only quick reflexes saved him this time.

‘‘WHAT THE HELL?!’’ Cursing loudly, Daimine leapt backwards as he noticed the sudden appearance of the teal haired boy standing in his way.

‘‘None of you shall get past me.’’

‘‘Cheh, just because you’re also a demon doesn’t mean you’re gonna be able to beat three of us you know! We can just slowly wear you down by fighting you one on one while the others regenerate! Half-bloods all have slow recovery!’’ Aomine exclaimed, proud to know something for once.

‘‘A half-blood? Is that what I look like to you? Hmmm… I guess fighting at full force isn’t exactly an option in here either. Why not...’’ Tetsuko paused for a moment, ‘‘We could meet next at the battle field? Where all of our fighting prowess would be at the maximum?’’ Tetsuko pleasantly suggested. ‘‘Don’t tell me that, a visual hallucination demon, a wild card demon and a mirror demon can’t beat me in the midst of a war?’’

A few short sentences, mostly consisting of taunts and insults to each other’s prowess, and a demon’s agreement was formed. The next time they faced off would be at the war that was going to occur soon. He who does not turn up would be counted as forfeit and be bound as a slave to the other side.

The war is coming soon… Too soon, thought Tetsuko as he watched the three other demons leave through the opening of the nearby window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School, studies and stuff.  
> Losing my thumbdrive.  
> just the usual things.  
> JK IT'S NOT USUAL I ALMOST CRIED WHEN I LOST IT.  
> then i found it.  
> And I've been stuck in Yuri on Ice hell lately.  
> Might write a oneshot for it.  
> I'm getting prompts on FB so I have so topics to write about for it.  
> I don't mind prompts and requests. If you can find my FB AHAHAHA.  
> (It's totally not the reason why you're gonna see some weird things appearing in the story, totally not cause of the prompts ahahaha-)


	16. Chapter 16

A mad rush occurred as Rida ran around frantically trying to locate some form of safety within the castle walls, just in fear of one of the supernatural she just saw, coming after her.  
She turned a corner and instantly collided with someone, being unable to see what’s in front due to the boy she now held.  
Impatience and fear instantly overtook her mind and she exclaimed the first thing that came to mind: ‘‘Are you blind? Can you not see that people are in a rush?’’ She hurriedly picked up the brown haired boy and turned to glare at the other party, only to stare straight into heterochromatic eyes of the Crown Prince. Forgetting herself for a moment, she defiantly refused to break eye contact and looked at Seishi.  
Seishi broke the staring competition first to look at what Rida was in such a rush with, only to look at the face of the Royal Dressmaker’s Son, Kouhata Furiki.  
‘‘What happened to him?’’ Seishi’s voice instantly turned icy and cold, while looking at Rida menacingly. A wrong word and she’d be dead.  
Rida felt herself instinctively shrink back and she racked her brains to think of a reason, only to be saved by the person she least expected to see, Tetsuko.  
‘‘Furiki-kun accidentally slipped on wet floor and hit his head on the back, I asked Rida to rush him back to the room in fear that he might have a concussion.’’  
‘‘I see, just bring him to my room, it’s much closer isn’t it?’’ Seishi looked at Rida, who in turned looked at Tetsuko. Rida then realized she was supposed to do as ‘suggested’ and headed off.  
‘‘I don’t know what happened, but if anything major happens, I expect to be informed, and that still includes of his well-being.’’ Seishi spoke lowly to Tetsuko, who replied with a nod of his head.  
Voice returning to normal, Seishi and Tetsuko made idle chatter as Tetsuko retrieved his medicine box and the duo went over to help Furiki, who was barely regaining consciousness.  
The moment Furiki regained consciousness, the first he saw was Tetsuko. Confused as to what he was doing there, he asked Tetsuko.  
Tetsuko looked at him for a moment, before questioning: “Do you not remember what happened?”  
Furiki frowned and racked his brain for what had happened that might have caused him to faint. All he remembered was that he was looking for Tetsuko for advice on the work, upon arriving in the palace, everything else seemed to be in a blur.  
“I don’t remember anything…I came to the palace looking for you for help in the suit, but everything else seems…weird?” Furiki’s eyebrows creased further.  
“It could be temporary memory loss from a concussion?” A voice appeared out of the blue, making Furiki instantly shoot up and out of the bed he was lying in which made blood rush out of his head and he felt slightly light-headed. He hid behind Tetsuko, even if said boy doesn’t offer much protection, and Furiki doubted Tetsuko’s ability to defend him, the moment he realized the person who spoke was none other than the Crown Prince Aka. Furiki tried to make himself as small as possible, curling up and trusting no-one except Tetsuko.  
“Prince Aka, I believe you are frightening and pressuring my guest, and I’d like for you not to do so.” Tetsuko calmly spoke.  
“Nonsense, I am doing no such thing, if I wanted to, that boy behind you would be on his knees begging for forgiveness for no reason.” The moment Furiki processed those words, a reflex ‘Eep!’ sound came out of his mouth and he wanted nothing more than to escape the room.  
“Prince Aka, please do not do such stressful things to my patient, and I’d like for you to leave, as it is very obvious you are making him uncomfortable.”  
“I kindly refuse, I feel a sense of duty to make sure that boy is fine.”  
“Prince Aka, please leave the ro-”  
“I refuse.”  
“Seishi.”  
The moment the name left Tetsuko’s mouth, Furiki felt the room’s temperature drop by a few degrees, and he could feel the static in the air even though he was hiding with his back facing the two.  
“…”  
“…”  
“…”  
“I understand, but may I talk with you for a moment then, Royal Advisor?”  
Furiki felt a chill run up his back.  
“If it is of no importance, I’d wish for it to be said later.”  
Goosebumps appeared.  
“I do so wish to speak with you now.”  
The temperature was so low, it might as well be in winter. Even hell would freeze over! Furiki thought to himself as he felt the stress and anxiety building up. He wished to offer to leave instead, but the thought of having eye contact with either of the other two in the room, he decided against it.  
“I understand; shall we step out?” Tetsuko replied and turned to Furiki. “I will be having a short conversation with…Furiki-kun? Are you okay?”  
“uh-what? I’m sorry I was dazing off a slight bit.” Furiki forced a laughter that sounded so fake he cringed internally.  
“I understand, I will be back in a moment, I would suggest you lie back down, as you might really have a small concussion, and I would like to examine it later on.”  
Tetsuko noted Furiki’s silent compliance and exited the room.

~~

“I could feel your bloodlust from the other end of the castle. What happened?”  
Straight to the point, Seishi is rarely like this. He must be really concerned. Why? Tetsuko mentally questioned before replying the redhead. “A small attempt of assassination. Nothing much important.”  
“A small assassination wouldn’t have you releasing bloodlust in amounts that can be felt only in wars.”  
“Because Furiki was dragged into the battle, I barely had Rida get him out.”  
Seishi looked at Tetsuko’s blank face, and decided to accept it for what it was worth.  
“But if I may inquire, why are you so concerned for my friend’s well-being. For what I understand, Furiki has no interest in becoming a direct relative of the Royal Family.”  
The instant Seishi’s face turned a slight pink, Tetsuko knew he hit jackpot.  
“No particular reason, I merely find him interesting of sorts, and wish to examine him closer.”  
“How close exactly?”  
“As close as I…” The true meaning of Tetsuko’s words sunk into Seishi’s mind a moment later, and Seishi glared at Tetsuko’s smirking face with as much hate towards the boy he could muster. Turning the face that was definitely as red as his hair, Seishi spoke quickly. “I wish to be updated on the recovery of that boy. Tell me when you return.” With that, Seishi strode of quickly and pridefully.  
Tetsuko merely shook his head.

~~

From as much as she understood, Rida knew that the three were bad news, and that the foretold war was definitely coming, very soon.  
There’s no time to waste. Rida thought as she sprang into action. Even without the notes from her master, she knew better than to leave this place unguarded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might realise that my style of typing has changed slightly(maybe majorly), since it's been awhile since I updated this after all.


	17. Chapter 17

_“Blood be shed, wars be won._

_But the devil is the ultimate victor, for lives are lost.”_

Tetsuko recited beside Seishi as the two sat in one of the smaller conference rooms.

“Is there any point in saying that now, Tetsuko?”

“Not really, but you and I both know of the upcoming events that will definitely only result in chaos and deaths.”

“Does anyone else know as of now?” Seishi inquired.

“Rida, that’s from you probably, then Suki since she needs to be safe even if she is also a demon. Oh and Furiki might have some information but I doubt so, seeing as his concussion seems to have knocked out the memories from that short period of time.” Tetsuko answered calmly.

Seishi looked straight at Tetsuko’s impassive face that was faced forward drinking some new drink from other lands that had him addicted to. Seishi sighed and also chose the decision looking at the wall opposite the round table the two were sitting at.

“Looking at me will not bring you any answers.”

“…”

“Furiki is and will be fine, that I can guarantee you. Unless you wish to make a pact just to be assured of it.”

“Then all is fine.” Seishi leaned back against his chair. How do the old geezers sit on this uncomfortable chair for long? Honestly for something in a palace, this chair is really uncomfortable.

~~

Furiki was honestly confused.

After waking up in the bed from knocking himself out on the floor, according to what Tetusuko said, he had met the Crown Prince, who had promptly asked to see Tetsuko.

The thing that was more confusing was, following that, the Crown Prince had arranged for him to stay in a room in the palace.

While not seeing his family and being able to get away from the gloomy atmosphere in the house back in town really helped, Furiki didn’t have his sewing materials and was honestly bored having nothing to do. Yet he didn’t want to walk around and risk chancing into someone, or even worse, the Crown Prince himself.

Furiki weighed his options, and decided that if he stayed in the room any longer, he would really go crazy from having nothing to do. So he sneaked out.

~~

The palace really is big and grand. Furiki thought to himself as he transverse the palace alone. He almost had a run-in with some palace guards, and for some reason had felt really scared and thus stayed to one side and tried to make himself disappear. Luckily he wasn’t noticed and the guards continued on their way.

Wandering around, Furiki ended up outside in a garden. He heard voices behind him in a distance and instantly turned around. His fear confused himself for some reason, and he instinctively shied away when he saw more guards walking in his direction. Before he could hide himself, one of the guards saw him and shouted at him. Furiki did the first thing that came to his mind. He ran.

~~

“I’m contemplating increasing the number of guards in the palace for the duration of the week of crowning. I have an ominous feeling. Especially for that day.” Seishi discussed his idea with Tetsuko.

“If you so wish, it is, after all, a very good chance for assassination attempts with the number of people that will be there.”

“Aside from that, I was thinkin-”

Seishi got cut off as shouts started outside. First floor conference rooms really weren’t used that much for this reason. Looking out the window Seishi saw a few guards pinning down a struggling body. Whoever it is seems quite strong, as Seishi watched the four guards trying to work together to pin down one person, and failing quite pathetically. The guards probably need a bit more training if they are having so much trouble with it.

Seishi focused on the person that was definitely freaking out, and was shouting while struggling, and throwing one or two guards off of himself. The clothes seem familiar…Is that…?

“What is happening outside?” Tetsuko questioned the Crown Prince, who was still by the window overlooking the gardens.

“…”

“Prince Aka?”

“…”

Tetsuko was about to walk over to Seishi when he suddenly felt a very strong killing intent coming from said person. Tetsuko widened his eyes at Seishi and hurried over, looking out at the group of guards. A boy with brown hair being pinned down quite unsuccessfully. Furiki?

Tetsuko looked back at Seishi.

A bright shining gold eye.

Bad news.

The only times that eye appeared is when he's angry, or when the old men in the conference are annoying him.

~~

Furiki struggled with all his strength, desperately trying to break free of the hold that the guards had over him. Yet, every time he kicked one free, the rest would just reinforce their grip over him, and it was making him panic.

**_Danger_ **

His mind screamed for him to escape. To run. Get away.

A presence. Somebody else is here. He felt restrained, as though some mysterious force was making him unable to move his limbs. Furiki closed his eyes tightly, hoping for someone to save him.

~~

The scene looked like picture, with everyone frozen in place. No-one could move. The overwhelming presence called for submission, and right now it was ordering everyone not to move.

“Unhand the boy.”

The guards all moved away.

Red hair moved towards brown.

The overpowering presence, so similar yet so different. Red eyes locked with soft brown iris. Except the soft brown iris were frozen in terror, breaths coming in short gasps.

“Furiki…?”

Everything went black.

~~

“I’d advise a little constraint on your presence right about now Aka-sama.” Tetsuko said in a soft voice.

Even if serving under him, this presence was nothing to joke about, with even Tetsuko bowing in submission from time-to-time.

Furiki was definitely hyperventilating moments before, and he had blacked out, probably the stress from facing against the pressure that coerces people to submit and obey, even after hours after orders were given. Against someone like Furiki, it would definitely cause their body to be unable to respond or obey. Furiki blacking out was actually a form of escape.

“Aka-sama, the guards are frozen in place, please retract your overpowering aura.”

"..."

“ _ **Father.**_ ”

Red eyes that were looking at the brunette moved over to Seishi, who had decided to step up.

“Seishi.”

The dominating aura between the two fused together, and even Tetsuko had to say that he was slightly affected. Finally when the two broke eye contact, and one of the guards fell to his feet unconscious.

“Do you know this boy, Seishi?”

“Yes father, he is an acquaintance. I am interested to know how you know of him though.”

“I mistook him for someone else. He looks quite like the Royal Dressmaker Furiki when he was younger.”

“Oh, that would be because this is Furiki Kouhata, the royal dressmaker’s son.” Tetsuko spoke up.

“…”

The silence was honestly stressing out Seishi. His father might accept people like Tetsuko speaking with him on equal terms, but what about a commoner?

"His son..."

Tetsuko and Seishi just widened their eyes ridiculously large at the expression that passed over the King’s face. A small seemingly sad smile, as though recalling. The king very rarely smiled in any form.

“Right, the youngest child that Furiki had to take care of…”

Another smile as the king looked at Furiki once more and spoke.

“Well, him being out cold there won’t help him, bring him back in since he is a guest, such displays against him is nothing short of rude. Please do apologize to him when he awakens.”

If their eyes could get any larger, it would have dropped out. The king had used the word ‘Please’. The perfect and absolute king that demanded all to obey, had used such a word.


End file.
